Finland

With an established, well-respected and quality-controlled education system, Finland is becoming the choice of bright minded students from all over the world. Education is highly valued in Finland and the high standard of education forms one of the cornerstones of the Finnish national strategy. The Finnish system of higher education is regarded as excellent and its universities are highly ranked worldwide. Finland offers excellent opportunities in higher education in every field of study. In general, there are no tuition fees at Finnish universities and University of Applied Sciences for students enrolled in regular degree programs. Finland is regarded as a country in which you can easily get by speaking English. There are a variety of English courses offered at both the universities and polytechnics.

The higher educational wings of Finland constitutes of Universities and Polytechnics (University of Applied Sciences), which provide most advanced state-of-art facilities to its students. 20 universities and 26 polytechnics provide higher education in Finland. All these institutions are internationally oriented and the country’s good reputation in higher education, combined with the wide range of courses offered in English, attracts interest among an increasing number of international students. At present, Finnish institutions of higher education offer more than 450 study programmes in English.

Universities Finnish universities have roots going back to the 17th century and today the country has one of the most comprehensive university networks in Europe. There are 20 universities in Finland: of these 10 are multi-faculty universities, 3 are universities of technology, 3 are schools of economics and business administration, and the remaining 4 are art academies. All universities carry out research and confer doctorates. Each university has also a centre for continuing education. The following Degrees are offered by the Universities: 1. Bachelor 2. Master 3. Licentiate 4. Doctorate

The Finnish Universities have set their own requirements vary from university to University. Normally, a Bachelor’s Degree from an internationally accredited University can fulfill the basic requirements for application to the Master Degree. English Language Proficiency test is essential for no-native English Speakers as well as non-EU/EEA students.

Polytechnics (University of Applied Sciences) Polytechnic education emphasizes close contacts with business, industry and services, especially at the regional level. The degrees are designed to meet the changing requirements and development needs of the world of work, having a pronounced occupational emphasis, and qualifying graduates for various expert duties.

There are currently 26 polytechnics (universities of applied sciences) operating in Finland. Most polytechnics are multi-field and operate in several units. Finnish polytechnics have defined themselves as universities of applied sciences. Therefore the institutions have also named themselves as universities of applied sciences.

Degrees Polytechnic degrees are Bachelor-level and Master-level higher education degrees with a professional emphasis. Studies are organized into degree programmes, which are confirmed by the Ministry of Education. However, the curricula are independently decided by the polytechnics. Basically, students having Higher Secondary or equivalent academic qualification can apply for Bachelor’s Degree. Additionally, non-EU/EEA applicants must provide the English Language skills through TOEFL/IELTS test score. The minimum requirement is:

Tuition fees & Scholarship Currently no tuition fees are charged in Finland as the Finnish Government funds to the institutions. The Centre for International Mobility (CIMO) and a number of other organizations grant scholarships for postgraduate studies and research in Finland. CIMO awards scholarships for postgraduate students and young researchers who have completed a master or doctoral level degree, as well as for teachers and administrative staff from universities abroad.

We encourage to all the interested students to make your own application for Finland since all the required information is completely available on the various WebPages. Log on the following WebPages and be equipped yourself with full of information.

Education in Finland is a system with no tuition fees and with fully subsidised meals served to full-time students. The present Finnish education system consists of daycare programs (for babies and toddlers) and a one-year “pre-school” (or kindergarten for six-year-olds); a nine-year compulsory basic comprehensive school (starting at age seven and ending at the age of fifteen); post-compulsory secondary general academic and vocational education; higher education (University and University of Applied Sciences); and adult (lifelong, continuing) education. The Finnish strategy for achieving equality and excellence in education has been based on constructing a publicly funded comprehensive school system without selecting, tracking, or streaming students during their common basic education. Part of the strategy has been to spread the school network so that pupils have a school near their homes whenever possible or, if this is not feasible, e.g. in rural areas, to provide free transportation to more widely dispersed schools. Inclusive special education within the classroom and instructional efforts to minimize low achievement are also typical of Nordic educational systems.

After their nine-year basic education in a comprehensive school, students at the age of 16 may choose to continue their secondary education in either an academic track (lukio) or a vocational track (ammattikoulu), both of which usually take three years. Tertiary education is divided into university and polytechnic (ammattikorkeakoulu, also known as university of applied sciences) systems. Universities award licentiate- and doctoral-level degrees. Formerly, only university graduates could obtain higher (postgraduate) degrees, however, since the implementation of the Bologna process, all bachelor degree holders can now qualify for further academic studies. There are 17 universities and 27 universities of applied sciences in the country.

The Education Index, published with the UN’s Human Development Index in 2008, based on data from 2006, lists Finland as 0.993, amongst the highest in the world, tied for first with Denmark, Australia and New Zealand. The Finnish Ministry of Education attributes its success to “the education system (uniform basic education for the whole age group), highly competent teachers, and the autonomy given to schools.”

Finland has consistently ranked high in the PISA study, which compares national educational systems internationally, although in the recent years Finland has been displaced from the very top. In the 2012 study, Finland ranked sixth in reading, twelfth in mathematics and fifth in science, while back in the 2003 study Finland was first in both science and reading and second in mathematics.